Friday, December 21, 2007

last night, slow food's ed yowell brought over some long island wines.... a riesling and cabernet franc from paumanok vineyards, on the north fork....the riesling was good, but didn't have the little boost of acidity that distinguishes alsatian and german reislings. the cabernet franc was grassy, earthy, in the style of loire red wines....

slow food will be hosting a special dinner in march. every ingredient in the meal, as well as the beverages, will be sourced from within a 100 mile radius of new york city. it will be challenging, educational , and most of all, delicious! we will feature the products of local farms like paffenroth (vegetables), 3 corner field farms (cheese and lamb), violet hill farm (pork), as well as seafood from north fork fishermen like blue moon.

jimmy's no.43 will have a table at the wintermarket, sunday december 16th. chef phillip kirschen clark will serve 3 corner field farms lamb.....

a table of slow food members was thrilled when they were served pork cracklings the other night. "we had bought some pork shanks from violet hill farms, at the union square greenmarket." both the pork shanks (slowroasted with red miso and served with local carrots and turnips) and the cracklings were delicious!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

While I'm not usually a fan of restaurant cooking, I do like the food at Jimmy's No.43. I've been there a few times now.some of the simpler menu items, like the goat cheese salad, lamb's tongue and collard greens, and hanger steak, really stand out because you can taste the freshness and quality of the product. The chef told me he is at the union square greenmarket 3 or 4 days a week, and that all of his produce and much of his other ingredients come from there.He is young and has only been cooking at Jimmy's for 3 or 4 months, so I expect that the food will only improve over the next few months. I will wait until the holidays are over - it seems particularly busy now- and go back in January.It is more gastro pub than restuarant. The cheese plate is also very good, with a changing selection of northeast farmstead cheese. They do monthly beer and cheese tastings with cheesmonger Anne Saxelby.Number one, this is a great place to book a table, and invite a few friends or more. The beer selection is excellent. I'm happy with the 12 micro drafts and 1 cask ale. It's a great idea to order several different beers each, starting from lighter to heavier. I like the Reissdorf Kolsch or unfiltered Mahr's Pilsner to start, then move on to one of the Belgian triples, and finish with one of the dark Belgian beers, either Troubadour Belgian Stout or St. Bernardus Quadruppel.

This is definitely not a restaurant. much more of an old school European family run pub/bar. Sometimes the staff may not treat you professionally, but they are also not trying to impress you. It's a great palce to relax with friends, drink and eat.

Every Wednesday and Thursday Night is OYSTER NIGHT- 6:00- 10:00 PM Enjoy happy hour specials and local oysters, a plate of 3 for just $5. A portion of each purchase will be donated to the Peconic Land Trust.